One thing that makes bananas so hard to keep fresh is that they ripen very quickly.
Unlike apples, oranges, and other fruits, they don’t do well in the fridge as the skin turns black leaving the bananas looking unappetising.
While many people opt for the fruit bowl as the best place to keep them, this too lends itself to other food storage issues – namely fruit flies.
These common pests can swarm ripe fruits in a bowl or cupboard, and seem impossible to get rid of without using the fridge.
However, one savvy homeowner has claimed that there’s just one ingredient needed to banish pesky flies for good.
Sharing their tip in the Stach Exchange forum known as “Lifehacks”, a user named Mike wrote: “If you already are seeing fruit flies around your bananas, try this to get rid of them quickly: Get a glass, fill it about one-quarter to half-full of red wine.
“Wrap the glass in saran (clear plastic wrap) and use a toothpick to poke about a dozen or so holes in the top of the wrap, which will allow access into the cup for fruit flies.”
Mike claimed that placing this glass of red wine “right next to the bananas” would entice fruit flies to the sweet liquid rather than landing on the yellow peel.
The online forum user noted that the “fruit flies will be very attracted to the scent of the red wine”, so much so that they will squeeze through the holes punched in the top of the plastic wrap.
When inside the cup, the flies will not be able to navigate back out, leaving them trapped and unable to swarm the nearby bananas.
According to Mike, this remedy is “even better” than using dish soap or apple cider vinegar, which are other common methods used to ward off fruit flies.
He claimed: “In fact, I did this just last night, placing three cups in the kitchen (we have a huge swarm right now due to an undiscovered piece of food getting stuck to the sink drain). In one cup, I counted about 11 dead fruit flies.
“In the second cup, seven In the third cup I had five dead flies. I have only seen one or two stragglers in the kitchen since then. It really works well!”
When it comes to keeping bananas safe from flies and overripening, there are a few other hacks that are worth trying.
One of which is to wrap the top stems of banana bunches in cling film to inhibit the release of ethylene gas, which is responsible for the rapid ripening process.
Another remedy is to keep bananas separate from other fruits by giving them a separate fruit bowl or hanging bunches on an entirely standalone hook under a kitchen counter or similar.
